Needle bevel guard for intravenous catheter

ABSTRACT

A hinged and closeable guard for maintaining the sterility of an intravenous needle prior to use and for maintaining the catheter in axial alignment with the needle during use.

D United States Patent 1 1 3,568,673

[72] Inventor Calvin C. Cowley: 56 References Ci d 1 N :gggg UNITEDSTATES PATENTS [21] P 1,494,973 5/1924 Pittenger 128/221 [22] F1led Nov.4, 1968 2,857,912 10/1958 Femstone et a] 128/215 [45] Patented Mar. 9,1971 3,323,523 6/1967 Sc1slow1cz et al..... 128/214.4 [73] Ass1gnee C.R. Bard, Inc.

Murray Hill, NJ. 3,324,853 6/1967 Czorny et a1 128/214.4 3,406,68710/1968 Moyer 128/221 Primary Examiner-Dalton L. Truluck [54] NEEDLEBEVEL GUARD FOR INTRAVENOUS w Saxton Seward CATHETER 6 Claims, 5 DrawingFigs. [52] US. Cl l28/2l4.4,

128/348 ABSTRACT: A hinged and closeable guard for maintaining [51] Int.Cl A6lm 5/00 the sterility of an intravenous needle prior to use and formain- [50] Field of Search 214, taining the catheter in axial alignmentwith the needle during 214.4, 215, 221, (LC. Digest) use,

NEEDLE WET/El, GUARD FGRTNTRAVENOUS QATHETER This invention relates to aneedle bevel guard for an intravenous catheter and in particular tomeans whereby the sterile discipline of the catheter and needle can bemaintained prior to catheter use and means whereby the catheter andpatient can be protected from injury during use.

W hen it is necessary to administer parenteral liquids, such asintravenous feeding and the like, it is common to make a venipuncturewith a needle and then to thread a sterile plastic catheter through theneedle and into the vein. The needle is then withdrawn from the vein andtaped to the patients body proximate the entry point, and administrationapparatus is attached to the catheter. in such surgical and hospitalprocedures, it is extremely important to avoid contamination of theintravenous catheter and needle unit prior to use. It is also importantthat the needle be maintained in axial'alignment with said catheterafter it has been withdrawn from the patient to prevent the accidentalcutting of the catheter by the sharp edges of the needle bevel.

Existing methods for effecting these dual purposes are not entirelysatisfactory. One method utilizes a tubular sleeve which fits onto theneedle, fully enclosing it, for preuse sterility maintenance andutilizes an annular band which fits firmly around the needle and is slidaxially so that it extends over the sharp end of the needle therebymaintaining the catheter in axial alignment with the needle. To achieveproper annular band positioning axial force is required. This oftenresults in the axial displacement of the catheter and this movement isundesirable. In addition, since the annular band is small, manipulationof it is often difficult.

Another method utilizes a symmetrical two portion needle guard which isintegrally formed with the needle hub. This method is complex andtherefore expensive and impractical since it is desirable to dispose ofthe catheter assembly after initial usage.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide aneedle bevel guard which will serve to maintain the sterile disciplineof the needle and catheter assembly after the assembly has been removedfrom the protective envelope in which it is shipped to the consumer.

it is also an object to provide a means whereby the catheter isprotected from the sharp edge of the needle bevel while it is extendingtherethrough.

It is a further object to provide a needle guard which will notinterfere with catheter insertion.

it is a further object to provide a needle guard which can be positionedwithout applying any axially oriented force to the catheter-needleassembly.

it is also an object to provide a guard which can be utilized withoutthe need of relying on complicated and detailed instructions.

It is a further object to provide a guard which can be manu factured atlittle cost, and is therefore disposable after use.

it is also an object to provide a guard which is operable with littleinconvenience or discomfort to the patient and with little difficulty tothe person effecting the intravenous connection.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent andthe invention will be fully understood from the following descriptionand drawings in which:

FIG. 1; is a perspective view of a known type of intravenouscatheterization device;

P16. 2 is a side elevational view of the needle-hub-catheter portion ofthe assembly illustrated in FIG. 1;

H6. 3 is a plan view of the preferred embodiment of the needle bevelguard with the two hinged portions lying in a single plane;

FlG. i is an end view from the right of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the catheter and needle assembly with the guardin closed position.

A typical 3d of the intravenous administration device, as shown in FlGS.l and 2, is of the type illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,055,361. Thisdevice generally indicated at ll has a needle ll, the needle being rigidin form, having a bore l9 therethrough, terminating at one end in abeveled sharp and 12 and provided at its other end with a hub T3. Thehub i3 is made up of two continuous cylindrical portions havingdifferent diameters; the smaller diametered cylinder 14 and the largerdiametered cylinder 15. The hub 13 has a bore 20 therethrough whichforms a passageway with the needle bore 19 through which the catheter l6passes. The catheter l6, usually made of a flexible plastic, terminatesat one end in an adapter 18 for connection to a suitable fluid supply ina wellunderstood manner.

The catheter-needle-hub unit 6b of the device 10 is shown in FIG. 2.This unit 60 is enclosed within a plastic guard 30, shown in FIGS. 3, 4and 5. Before use, the remaining portions of the catheter assembly 10,whose sterile discipline must be maintained, are enclosed by a pliantplastic guard sleeve I7, as shown in FIG. 1.

The needle guard 30 consists of two approximately rectangular portions31, 32 having approximately the same shape. These two portions arehinged together at 33 along one long side of each and have purse snap"closure means 35 on their free sides whereby, when the two portions 31,32 are rotated about the hinge 33 into facing contact with each other,they will be releaseably locked in closed position.

Each guard portion 31, 32 has a groove 50 formed therein parallel to thehinge 33. Upon folding together of the two portions these groovescombine to form a passageway from end to end of the closed guard. Eachgroove has three discrete zones: 21 zone 41 having a diameterapproximately the same as or slightly less'than that of the catheter 16,a zone 42 having a diameter slightly greater than the diameter of theneedle 11, and a zone 43 having a diameter approximately equal to thediameter of the hub portion 14 and preferably flaring slightly toaccommodate manufacturing variations in hub size. When the guardportions 31, 32 are folded together so that the catheter-needlehub unit60 in enclosed firmly within the passageway 41-42-43, the catheter i6 isthereby maintained in axial alignment with the needle Ill and theaccidental cutting of the catheter to is prevented. FIG. 5 illustratesthe assembly till with the needle guard in place. The zone 41 should besmall enough to prevent free movement of the catheter therethrough atall times, so that the end of the catheter cannot accidentally move toan exposed position during shipment.

The entire unit comprising guard 30 and catheter assembly 10 is shippedto the consumer enveloped in a sterile container. When the unit isremoved from this envelope prior to use, the guard 30 is in place aboutthe assembly 60 whereby the assembly 60 may be placed on a contaminatedfield without sterility violation, since that portion of the assemblynot enclosed by the guard 30 is enclosed by the protective sheath B7.The guard 30 is then removed from the assembly ill by separating thepurse snaps 35 and rotating the guard portions 31, 32 about the hinge 33into an open position permitting removal from the needle and hub. Theneedle 11 is then inserted into the vein, the catheter T6 is advancedinto the vein to the desired extent, the needle ii is withdrawn in theusual manner and the guard 30 is repositioned about thecatheter-needle-hub unit 60 by replacing the guard, rotating the guardportions 31, 32 into closed position with the purse snap" joinder means35 locking the guard portions 31, 32 in contact, and thecatheter-needle-hub unit 69 securely enclosed within the guardpassageway. The catheter to is thereby maintained in axial alignmentwith the needle ll and the accidental cutting of the catheter by thesharp edges of the needle bevel l2 will be prevented.

Iclaim:

1. A needle bevel guard for use with an intravenous catheterizationassembly comprising a hollow needle having a beveled point and a hub anda plastic catheter movable through said needle to project beyond saidpoint, constituted by two elongated portions hinged together along oneedge to permit bringing faces of said portions substantially intocontact flatwise, each of said faces being substantially flat andprovided with a medial groove spaced from the hinged edges and saidgrooves being complementary to form, when the faces are substantially incontact, a passageway having zones sized to accommodate, respectively,the hub, the needle and the catheter, and to retain the needle andcatheter in axial alignment when the catheter is moved to a projectingposition, the thickness of the sections in a direction perpendicular tothe plane of said faces being substantially less than the width of saidsections in said plane.

2. A needle bevel guard according to claim 1, in which the zone sized toaccommodate the catheter includes at least a part engaging the catheterto prevent axial displacement thereof with respect to the needle.

3. A needle bevel guard according to claim 1, in which the zone sized toaccommodate the hub is of outwardly flaring cross section.

4. A needle bevel guard according to claim 1, in which the zone sized toaccommodate the catheter includes at least a part engaging the catheterto prevent axial displacement thereof with respect to the needle, andthe zone sized to accommodate the hub is of outwardly flaring crosssection.

5. A needle bevel guard according to claim 1, which includescomplementary snap-acting releasable fastening devices projecting fromthe edges of said portions opposite the hinged edges and automaticallyengageable when said faces are moved toward contacting position forholding the portions in closed position.

6. A needle bevel guard according claim 1 in which the portions arehinged together along substantially the entire length of one edge.

1. A needle bevel guard for use with an intravenous catheterizationassembly comprising a hollow needle having a beveled point and a hub anda plastic catheter movable through said needle to project beyond saidpoint, constituted by two elongated portions hinged together along oneedge to permit bringing faces of said portions substantially intocontact flatwise, each of said faces being substantially flat andprovided with a medial groove spaced from the hinged edges and saidgrooves being complementary to form, when the faces are substantially incontact, a passageway having zones sized to accommodate, respectively,the hub, the needle and the catheter, and to retain the needle andcatheter in axial alignment when the catheter is moved to a projectingposition, the thickness of the sections in a direction perpendicular tothe plane of said faces being substantially less than the width of saidsections in said plane.
 2. A needle bevel guard according to claim 1, inwhich the zone sized to accommodate the catheter includes at least apart engaging the catheter to prevent axial displacement thereof withrespect to the needle.
 3. A needle bevel guard according to claim 1, inwhich the zone sized to accommodate the hub is of outwardly flaringcross section.
 4. A needle bevel guard according to claim 1, in whichthe zone sized to accommodate the catheter includes at least a partengaging the catheter to prevent axial displacement thereof with respectto the needle, and the zone sized to accommodate the hub is of outwardlyflaring cross section.
 5. A needle bevel guard according to claim 1,which includes complementary snap-acting releasable fastening devicesprojecting from the edges of said portions opposite the hinged edges andautomatically engageable when said faces are moved toward contactingposition for holding the portions in closed position.
 6. A needle bevelguard according claim 1 in which the portions are hinged together alongsubstantially the entire length of one edge.